come_sailaway | JUNE EVENT: CAMP

JUNE EVENT: CAMP

early on June 10th, Friday's morning announcements end with a request for everyone going on the latest excursion to meet her in the atrium. she seems in noticeably better spirits than she had been last time, and she leads them cheerfully to the tender. once they are all aboard, and the door is securely shut, the interior fills with gas, and, perhaps, their last thought before they slip into unconsciousness is "oh shit, not again."

passengers wake up on a rickety old school bus, driving down a dirt road surrounded by woods. what is it that they notice first? that, no matter what they were wearing before, they are now wearing a camp t-shirt and legitimately horrifyingly short shorts? the overstuffed backpack between their knees? the words "take one down and pass it around" dying on their lips? the fact that Friday is absolutely driving the bus?

or, maybe the fact that it's already slowing down, pulling up in front of a massive wooden sign, saying:

CAMP AION

when they get out of the bus, Friday is the one to divide them up into their cabin groups, and she is the one to give the counselors their very official-looking clipboards and whistles. she explains that they are in charge, and that she will be back to pick them up in a week, and... very little else. she responds to nothing outside of whatever is on her unseen little script, and she gets back on the bus shortly after, leaving them there.

welcome to camp. let's make some summer memories!

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She looks pretty always, but looks particularly good tonight. "A cute pumpkin or one of those huge gourds with warts all over them?" he teases. "I'd prefer not to end the night that way either. The color goes well with your skin tone just the way that it is."

The song ends and the two of them slowly come to a stop in the middle of the dance floor. "Um. Would you like some punch?"

"One with warts, obviously," Ava claims playfully, "Because I have that mole right over my eyebrow."

When the song stops, Ava is reluctant to pull away again, regretful that the moment is over. "Actually, I rather get some fresh air." She's doing pretty well to not allow herself to feel too overwhelmed by the amount of people shoved in here together. Even while on high alert for threats, she's slowly eased herself out of thinking something terrible is about to happen. But there's only so much she can take of such a busy atmosphere.

"Not the same thing as a wart though," he replies. Malcolm gazes down at her, struck by how pretty she is. Ava cleans up very well, but he thinks she's pretty even when her hair is messy.

"Of course." Malcolm releases her and then offers her his arm so that he can escort her outside. It's dark and quiet out there, the night made even more silent by the lack of any insect sounds.

"I guess if I can thank the Captain for anything, it's that at least he got the weather in this simulation right." The days haven't been too incredibly hot and the evenings have been pleasantly cool.

She follows him away from the party, and visibly looks far less tense once they're enough away that the music is barely audible. "It still feels strange how... open-ended this all was. The color assignments felt... as if there was meant to be some sort of competition. Yet without direction nobody did much about it. That's probably for the best? I've never been a fan of team sports. And I'd hate to see what sort of prize the Captain would come up with. If a crab was the last one."

"It was a fake out, I guess," Malcolm says. "I thought maybe he was trying to distract us while he did something else sinister." There's still time for that to happen. They haven't left camp yet.

Even if the silence is unnerving, Malcolm can tell that Ava is calming down the more that she's away from the crowd. It makes him feel good that being around him apparently doesn't increase her anxiety.

"That's why we need to try to resist whatever it is he has planned next. We're not going to gain anything out of it. People obey because they're trained to obey authority." He glances over at her. "Have you heard of the Milgram Experiment?"

"Is that the one with the lab coats and shocking people?" Ava guesses by the context. She's heard of a few different experiments involved perceived authority, but she's no expert on the subject by any means. Can't even remember why they were shocking people in that experiment.

"I'm... one of the few here that grew up in captivity," or at least she hasn't met anyone that's admitted to coming from a similar background. "And I learned the benefits of perceived compliance. It allowed me to keep more freedoms and opportunities. Look at how much they broke poor Sarge..." Ava shakes her head.

"That's the gist of it," he replies with a light smile. "In his first experiments, 65% of people administered the highest level shock to the learner, and that number has remained fairly stable in subsequent experiments." That's what they're working with here. 65% of people are going to do what the Captain tells them to do.

"His PTSD is worse than mine," Malcolm says. There are a lot of people who have worse PTSD than Malcolm, but he feels that his own is bad enough.

He'd rather not think about any of this right now though. It's a nice night out here with Ava in the moonlight. Gently reaching over, Malcolm takes her hand in his. "You wanted to try to find a kayak?" he asks.

"I probably shouldn't, but I hope better of the people here. At least better than 65%..." Ava trails off. She isn't one for blind optimism, but the passengers already know what the Captain is about, know what happened during the battle royale. Most seem intent on openly working against him, going by those mass texts and calls for unity that they apparently didn't require for this excursion. But still, she knows there's those that would take advantage at the expense of everyone else. Fears and weaknesses are easy to exploit.

Ava gives his hand a tight squeeze at the mention of his PTSD, rubbing her thumb over Malcolm's knuckles in an attempt at comfort. It's a nice feeling, having somebody to hold onto. And she would rather enjoy what's left of the evening than worry too much about everything else to come. She nods, and they head toward the lake whose other side can never be reached. "I know it's silly. We spend so much time on a boat already..." but she likes the peacefulness of it, the privacy.

Malcolm tries to be an optimist as well, though he fully expects that it will bite him in the ass. He hopes that the next situation the Captain places them in will not end up pitting them against each other. He hopes for cooperation, but if he only has a chance to protect Ava and himself, he'll do it.

"A kayak is different," he replies. "Much smaller." And more intimate. They're able to find a kayak by the lakeside and bring it down to the water. After helping Ava in, Malcolm gets in and then pushes them off across the lake.

"Good thing the moon is so bright," he says. It gives him a little bit of light to see as he dips the oar into the water.

As much as she wants to hope for better, Ava knows well enough that her plans can never rely on the kindness of anyone. Especially with the fluctuation of newcomers, lacking their own loyalties and understanding of the situation. But she has Malcolm, and she finds that she trusts him. Even if she hasn't seen any demonstration of him needing to prove it under pressure.

She's quiet as they get out to the lake and into the water, watching the way the moon reflects off the ripples of water, and then studying the way it casts against the shadows on Malcolm's face. "Mm," she agrees. "It's a lovely time of night. Thanks again, for going to the dance with me." Even if she made them leave early.

Malcolm trusts Ava too. Perhaps it's foolish to do so, knowing her past, but he thinks that they think enough of each other to want to protect one another. Malcolm hopes he's showed her that he cares for her and wouldn't just abandon her to whatever horrors the Captain has in store for them.

They drift out to the middle of the lake where they can float for awhile without Malcolm rowing. The silence would be creepy if he didn't have Ava with him. "Of course," he replies. It hadn't been about the dance itself. Malcolm just wanted to go with her.

He lays down in the kayak as best he can, looking up at the night sky. "People have been trying to figure out if the stars here are similar to those in their worlds."

She arrived her with the belief nobody at all should count upon her. That she was selfish, opportunistic and had no reason to help anyone but herself, and has clung to the thought for so long that it's been difficult to give up. It's shifted more toward doubting her ability to do anything significant in protecting anyone from the inevitable, but at least she has the motivation now that she didn't before. Something to keep living for and fighting for.

It's terrifying in its own way to care about people. Because she doesn't want to so easily give this up. Ava stretches out her own legs and shifts her position to lay alongside Malcolm. There's enough room for them both, but only if she situates a few of her limbs over him, her body pressed to his side. Her heart beats rapidly, and she's sure he can feel it with how close she is.

"They're not," Ava insists quietly, though her gaze remains on his face rather than glancing up at the sky. "Not mine at least. There's not a single constellation I recognize. And I don't think the pirates have had much luck either," because she trusts they know the night sky more than anyone.

As she lays down next to him, Malcolm's heart starts to beat faster as well. This is the closest they've been since he comforted her in the laundry room after the Battle Royale. Malcolm gazes at her form in the dark, breathing in the sweet scent of her, when he realizes that she's been talking.

"Oh. Yeah. I'm... not an expert in astronomy at all, so I'll take your word for it. It must be something random that the Captain has created."

"Does that make it any less beautiful?" Ava asks, reaching over to brush a strand of hair from his forehead, aware of her desire to do much more. Ava wets her bottom lip nervously.

"Can I tell you a secret?"

Her fingers touch his forehead and he feels a shiver go through him. Malcolm gazes back into her hazel-green eyes.

"Of course," he murmurs. Right now, he's forgotten about anything but he and Ava, here in this canoe together.

"I um," Ava hesitates, begins to doubt herself. She almost wants to disappear than say the next part. But she has to push past it. "I want to kiss you."

His heart seems to stop beating for a second. Malcolm definitely isn't breathing, and he realizes that he needs to - and he also needs to answer her.

"I, um... I think you should," he whispers back, closing his eyes as he waits for her lips to touch his.

Oh. That's... oh. Just like that? Ava blinks her own eyes, a bit startled.

But his are closed in expectation, and if she doesn't carry through now then it's going to be even more awkward.

Her fingertips cup the side of his face, barely there, and if she presses her mouth against his a bit too firmly it's because she wants to make sure she actually connects.

And then she quickly pulls back.

It seems like it takes a year before she kisses him. When contact is finally made, Malcolm can feel his heart burst at the sensation. Her lips press hard against his, and then are gone.

Malcolm can't help but lean forward in order to capture her lips again. He tilts her chin up and moves his head to the side, making this kiss a bit more intimate than the last one.

She doesn't expect the follow up kiss, a confused little 'mmph' into it and her hands planting against his shoulders with a split-second intention to shove Malcolm away like a threat. But luckily the rest of her senses manage to quickly override it, and her fingers clutch at the fabric of his jacket instead.

She forgets for a bit to breathe, then gasps against his mouth.

He pulls back when she gasps, as he'd forgotten himself for a moment. Kissing her was something that he wanted for so long that he found himself getting caught up in it.

"Sorry," he gasps. "That was... it was really good." His forehead rests against hers.

Her eyes are still tightly closed, and she's trembling slightly as she pushes closer against Malcolm. Overwhelmed, because there's so much more that she wants and yet there's that urge to hide too.

Because despite her clumsiness it did feel good, an overly foreign sensation when all her body is used to is various degrees of pain. Ava's not quite sure what to do with it.

"No," she responds to the apology, her breaths evening out. "I..." She moves to kiss him again, because it seems easier than trying to explain her confusion.

Malcolm wraps an arm around her waist and draws her body close to his. She's tangible, and it makes him happy to be able to feel her. He wonders if contact like this helps with that at all.

He returns the kiss, opening his lips slightly this time. Ava hasn't had a lot of experiences in her life, and Malcolm doesn't want to push her into anything she isn't ready for yet. It will be up to her to set their pace.

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JUNE EVENT: CAMP

CAMP AION

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